Memories That Last
by writingNOOB
Summary: John and Alice barely lived the slaver attack on Mindoir, parents and friends lost, till an Alliance patrol rescues them. About thirteen years later and before Eden Prime. With personal reasons and a new nasty attitude, Alice has grown distant from her brother and at odds with a certain lieutenant. Shall new memories mend the chasm created between the Shepards? All is M related.


A basis for my story so it shall begin.

PLEASE let me know if this is decent or unnecessary? No bashing or rude comments.

I wanted to make use of the offered backgrounds for ME, giving me a stronger and more defined environment and setting for my OC, which takes twice as long, usually, to write from just imagination. Alice is a character meant to be like the FemShep as I've seen the MShep the legit and more 'canon', perhaps, character of ME. Games usually have main males, which I hoped wasn't so sometimes.

Story of little girl, so she isn't quite up to the character I have imagined yet. She needs to build up to it, so bare with me until then. The next chapter is the actual beginning, as this is her background with John Shepard, the hero.

On a last note, she is romancing Kaidan and flirty/romancing swing whatever with James. Gotta implement that drama.

Bioware's Mass Effect

I don't own any of this, except the character, Alice.

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Memories That Last

I: Mindoir Escape

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Whether she will turn out to be the heroine of her own life, or fall as a victim to the raid, she knew that they needed to escape one way or another.

It was too late to save everyone. The Batarian forces were too great, their defenses more so. They must survive for the sake of the many fallen who had died protecting them, including their parents.

With tears threatening to fall, Alice struggled to consider if she should use the gift that she inherited as a small child to fight back, but fear held her back. She hadn't found complete control over it yet. She wondered if hiding would help them any, or push forward and risk their own lives. If they chose the former, they would eventually be found regardless of their efforts. The latter would only create a chance of success or failure, but at least they would have tried.

If successful, they would be the only survivors of the Batarian slaver raid.

Alice felt the harsh tremors through the ground from each deafening explosion. Huddled up next to her brothers hovering build and damaged cargo crates, she can all but see the other families holding each other murmuring crying prayers as the batarians picked them off one by one from a few feet away, taking few as slaves.

They hid far enough that her muffled whimpers were not heard as her guardian attempted to quiet her softly. He held her tightly to muffle more cries breaking through, the gunshots and screams from those they knew their entire lives were murdered, no slaughtered like animals.

Not long ago, she and her brother were at the Mindoir Hospital for her monthly checkup with her personal doctor, an asari named Dr. Zene, a biotic specialist for children who were exposed to 'eezo', or Element Zero. It was a day just like any other, clear sea foam colored sky and the beautiful agriculture that their family farmed.

Many Alliance colonists inhabited the earth-like planet, Mindoir, which was founded in 2153 as a part of humanity's earliest deep space colonial efforts. It was founded to serve as a home for humans who no longer wished to live on Earth. Of course, in doing so, it stirred up a few problems with the other inhabitants of the Attican Traverse and the Terminus Systems.

Hailing from a long line of European farmers, the Shepard family followed Dr. Claude Mindoir, a scientist and explorer, among many others to start a new colonization. During their settlement, it was the beginning to the Shepard story as Luke Shepard met and fell in love with the beautiful Hannah Blanc, a daughter of a French scientist. Soon after, a baby was born, the very first human being born on Mindoir, John Shepard. However, certainly not the last.

Nearly seven years later, the Shepards' received another special gift, a baby girl, Alice Shepard.

Like every other family, they had their ups and downs, including accidents. The founded world held small and isolated Element Zero that consequently, to a much younger Alice Shepards' amusement, gave 'super powers' to the native animals. A pyjak, one of her personal favorites. When first stumbling upon the dust-form 'eezo', which is remarkably rare on Mindoir, she ignorantly exposed herself without awareness to the consequences. Her brother John found her unconscious from falling down a slope, hitting her head and sleeping in the mineral for a few hours. Normally, that would potentially do more harm, but the small amount was not deadly.

Due to the sudden change to her body, she fell very sick, creating a scare amongst her family. Remarkably, she survived and fell into a stable condition, but doctors feared for the worst. Having been exposed to element zero, or 'eezo', the possibility of developing brain tumors or other horrific physical complications is just more likely than developing biotic abilities or not at all. It's rare for humans, but there is tremendous potential.

Alice spent a great deal in the hospital as a child, cared for by few doctors still learning the side effects of patients exposed to the dust-like eezo. At first, the doctors wanted to monitor her conditions, to see if she would evolve positively with the eezo and become a 'potential', but Hannah reluctantly allowed it and only let Dr. Zene work directly with Alice. She worked with the colonists without involving the Council, which the humans feared would show how 'weak' they were. Her interest was to better the relationship with the youngest species. With her, she introduced Alice to many exercises that would help her adjust to her newly formed abilities.

It was a year or so later when her body accepted the change, giving her the talent for biotics. However, her condition was at a constant wave length, working one minute and seizing the next. She had a hard time conjuring anything for some time.

Considering that both of the Shepard parents were often busy with work, Alice spent a great deal of time with Zene, aside from her brother. John stayed close to her, but with the age gap, it seemed to have worked for them, considering siblings closer in age often fight or so some would say. Their sibling relationship was special, unique, or at least, they felt that way. When he moved, she moved. It was like two working in sync with one another, cohesive perhaps.

John was considered to be both responsible and yet rebellious. He took care of Alice as if she only mattered, but he never really got along with their parents. Maybe it was because they were both too busy for either of them, not all families were perfect. He didn't necessarily hate them, just refused to be happy with the way things were.

She often described her brother as a loyal soldier. She believed that he fought for what he felt was right, working hard at what he does and never leaving anything unfinished. It was in his nature to be a protector. Through her young silly eyes, he was a hero. He had it in him to be one, she believed honestly.

Alice was a huge fan for archery and the mythology of certain worlds, especially Earth's. Time in the hospital gave her a lot of free time, reading was one of her past times. Her favorite topics were the Greek Mythology and Grimm fairytale stories. Although, she read the majority of them over the extranet since they were far from Earth. And of course, John teased her about loving to read her story books or mythology of the old Earth. She certainly loved to read. She would tell him bits of each story that she found fascinating, particularly the Greek and Norse mythology. He could easily tell you which one was her favorite, or anyone could give a wild guess, due to her self-designed technical bow and arrows she built from scratch with the Salarian weapons and upgrade trader, Tyorn, who instantly took to her bright mind. Since then, she tried to use the bow properly, experimenting with her biotics simultaneously.

Just like their parents, she was intelligent and resourceful. She loved learning newer things, especially about the Earth that she had never been to. Maybe now, with the Alliance patrol fighting the batarian defenses to help them escape would finally give her the chance to see their true home world.

Of course, if they got out alive.

"Breathe, Ali-bell."

Watery steel eyes blinked exhaustedly upwards, connecting with John's soothing and calm ones. Her eyes reminded him of a scared and lost puppy, searching for solace and safety. It pained him to see his smaller, more fragile sister suffer through this. Losing your parents like this is damn near traumatizing, especially witnessing their own death.

"I'm going to get you out of here and safely." He promised. Even if it killed him, he would see to it that she was far away from this living hell.

Alice tried to form a word, but the fear and soreness in her throat from screaming so much left her feeling dry and croaky. Instead, she gripped the front of his vest and clung to him vulnerably, seeking the protection and warmth from the heavy, freezing cold rain. Her waterfall tears mixed with the rain, making it difficult to see if she was crying now, but evident that she had by the red, soreness around her eyes.

Her faded blue and orange sweater weren't doing much to keep her dry, even with the hoodie up. Her leggings and boots covered in mud from sitting. His leather clothes were stained with splatters of blood from both from having to fight his way out brutally for survival. He was fortunate only a few shots grazed him, leaving only scratches.

In attempt to keep her dry, John shielded the rain by pressing her closer and beneath his chin, kissing the top of her long messy, dirt clad ginger hair, bangs matted to her small brow. Her scrawny frame fit perfectly in his arms; his large jacket nearly engulfed her whole over her shoulders. She is the last thing left that reminded him of mother as her spitting image. Mother had always been fair skinned and slender, a beautiful woman. He always thought that he resembled the men on father's side of the family, standing fairly tall and burly possibly from farming for generations, though the hair varied from member to member. He inherited the russet-colored hair somewhere.

Thinking about their parents and family after all of this was unbearably painful. They just lost everyone. How cruel it was to have a child watch their parent's death.

Despite the shock rendering her mute and a bit feverish due to the biotics acting up once in a while, he's proud of her for handling the situation rationally, but he can't help but blame himself for not arriving any sooner to save them. There's nothing that can help anymore, not any of them or the Alliance.

Mindoir was already lost.

A small, gentle hand graced over his left cheek where a heavy bruise formed with a gash above his left brow, pulling him out of his harsh thoughts. John smiled softly, resting his forehead against hers. It was then that he was reminded that she gave him the strength and will to continue. She was being so brave, so held together, it amazed him. As he was her strength, too.

"It won't be long. We just need to hold out a little longer until more Alliance show up." He reassured her. He may have sounded so sure of himself, but at this point, he may as well not believe that help will show. Having seen the ships fly over, he wondered where they were. Surely they'd already have fought their way through by now.

Just before, he managed to clumsily climb into the radio tower that had the emergency connection to the Alliance distress link. Majority of the comms were destroyed, but not beyond repairable. It didn't take him long to set up one and re-wire the cords, but the static was nearly impossible to speak above without alerting any nearby batarians.

Once the distress signal was sent out, it was fortunate that a nearby Alliance patrol picked it up. Given their coordinates and situation, the Alliance instructed him to follow a different plan. Wait until they have the clear to escape towards the opposite docking bay where they will rendezvous and get the hell out.

Shortly after, the patrol arrived; however, it was too late for the majority of them. The batarian slavers weren't looking to enslave a whole colony, just the handful. The rest, as already stated, were killed.

By the time the Alliance patrol set in to rescue any survivors, the batarians had gotten wind on the arrival and set up their defenses, which was impossibly impenetrable. The Alliance watched helplessly as many of the colonists were picked off or taken. That's around the time he received these injuries, fighting his way out with one gun in hand and his sheer strength. He fought his way out of the station and lost the bastards the longer way; otherwise he'd risk leading them to where Alice sat vulnerably. Her biotics weren't developed far enough to control when needed to defend herself. Without Zene to coach her, she had a difficult time focusing with so many distractions. And now they are aware that there are some stragglers hidden. Escape will only be a little tougher now.

Seeing his wounds, Alice instantly fretted over his condition, still no words but the look in her eyes said all what she thought. Assuring her that he'll be more cautious, they waited for who knows how long till the batarians finally dispersed, leaving behind the bodies of people they once knew.

"Scoot over a bit so I can check if the coast is clear." Shifting, Alice watched as her brother stood up along the tree and peered around quietly. They were shielded by a few crates, though small enough to not raise any suspicion.

Seeing that no batarians were in sight, he took this as the opportune moment to make their move. The oldest Shepard kneeled back down to his scared sister, holding onto her practice bow. He laid both hands on either side of her wet face and brushed aside the few strands of hair.

For all he knew, this could be the last chance to see each other if one of them didn't make it.

"Ali-bell…" he breathed out quietly. "Remember what dad used to say to us when we were afraid?"

Slowly, she shook her head, dejectedly reminded of what will never be the same.

"He said 'fear is only as deep as the mind allows'." John paused for a moment, eyes holding hers. "He means that you don't have to be afraid. You control it, not the other way around. Don't let yourself be fooled; you're very brave when you want to be."

Alice frowned deeply. He was asking something nearly impossible of her. But, as long as they were together, she could at least try. With deep breaths, she tried to make use of the exercise Zene taught her for focus and the very control she required.

John led Alice across the opening and through each raided unit for cover. All that was left were a few more corners and straight shot towards the back docking bay. With gun in hand, John was ready to eliminate any threat.

As John was ready to turn the corner, Alice pulled him back by yanking on his sleeve roughly. John turned abruptly, stopping as two shadows entered his peripheral. Quietly, the older Shepard led her as they stalked along the edge of the counter as the two shadows slipped in slowly.

The sound of John's beating heart was painfully loud. It was a wonder if they could hear it, but impossible. Alice kept quiet, hidden between the counter and couch for shelter just as he instructed of her. Just as he glimpsed around the corner, he was caught by surprise to see that neither were alien.

The Alliance blue armor brought great relief to him.

"Pst! Hey!" John tested out, not sure how else to get their attention without risk getting shot by jumping out from cover abruptly.

Naturally, the two soldiers turned defensively. To prove that he wasn't batarian, he slowly revealed his arm and head as if surrendering, and came out from hiding. The two Alliance were relieved to see that there were indeed survivors.

"Young man, we're with the Aliiance patrol. We've come to help." The smaller man motioned as they both slipped in beside John in hiding. "I'm Carl Thomas. This is Tarrence Grieves."

"I'm John Shepard. This one is my sister, Alice. We're ok…but…the others aren't so much." John answered grimly, noticing the regret on the marines face.

The larger man looked around for the other to notice Alice as she slowly crawled out from hiding reluctantly. At seeing her, the men eased a bit.

"Hello, young lady." Tarrence smiled. "We're here to help. So nothing to fear."

Alice settled beside John and nodded at the larger man, averting her eyes nervously.

"Sorry, she…it's been…horrific…" John tried to explain as he held her to him, noticing the way her eyes began to shimmer possibly from relief to see help. He could second that feeling.

"Both of you are very strong to have endured and survived, but…we really need to move and get both of you out…we weren't so sure we were going to find anyone after…" Carl hesitated, but stopped before finishing the dark thought. Shaking his head briefly, he decided to change the topic. "Anyway, we have a small evac team nearby, we need to get both of you out so follow us and stay in cover."

As Carl and Tarrence led the siblings out, the sound of more running forced the small group towards cover under shelter of a cliff-side unit and some cargo. Several batarians scurried across the open view, possible heading towards their own ships. Avoiding the group, Carl motioned for Terrance to watch back as they progressed.

The group ran along the water pipes to the docking bay, only to grimly find that their shuttle missing.

"Dammit!" Carl cursed roughly, raising his right hand to connect to the pilot. "Hey! Anyone there? Sol?!"

After a few beeping noises, a voice responded to the other end. "Sol, here! Had to maneuver away to avoid getting spotted! Are you at the rendezvous?"

"Yeah. How far are you? Can you get here A.S.A.P.?"

"Uh…it's going to be a little difficult…some batarian snipers found me." A few curses followed. "Let me swing around and try to lose them. Ah, crap! One's got a missile launcher. Hold up a little longer, LT!"

"Dammit! Alright! Be careful and hurry up. We'll try to hold them off here and wait for the others." Carl switched his communicator. "Is there anyone else left! Chief? Meryl? Snip?"

He only received static. It was assumed that worst has happened. Cursing, the lieutenant turned to the Terrance who was already ahead of him. He led John and Alice to cover as Carl did the same, reloading their guns. They needed to move fast.

"Take this. We need to hold off till our shuttle comes around." A hand held out an ammo pack to the teen. Nodding, John accepted it and placed them in his pocket till he needed them.

As they waited in cover, Alice considered what her brother said just before. The moment to take control of her fears was coming soon. Steely eyes looked down at her hands as she focused all she could to control her biotics. A flicker appeared, but disappeared the moment a small smile formed. It was no use, under pressure was a lot different than practice.

"You're a biotic? So young."

Alice looked up to the impressed Alliance marine whose smile lit brightly. Timidly, she nodded.

"Me too." Terrance smiled, lifting a hand as his full body radiated the blue energy. He tried to hold in his laugh as the small girl's eyes widen in awe and smiled. "There you go~. You're smiling."

Alice's smile spread further, falling shy suddenly. John watched on thankfully as his sister finally cheered up. "She hasn't done that all day…I was beginning to worry."

Terrance frowned at the older sibling, wishing that they didn't have to experience this terror. They were pulled into this war far too early, especially for the kid. "I'm sorry that this happened. Truly I am…"

"Nah…don't be. It isn't your fault. No one could have predicted this." John reassured him. "I'll just be happy to get her out of this."

Shooting rounded off, and to their dismay, a horde of batarians located them with guns aimed in their direction.

"Now?" Carl muttered in frustration, firing each round of his rifle. "How the hell could they find us back here?"

Instantly, Terrance set off a barrier as he then rose from cover and took out a few of the bastards, getting hit a few times himself, but nothing phased through. A few moments into the battle, John assisted, but barely since he had no armor or biotic barriers. The batarians were persistent in taking them down.

"Lieutenant!" a shuttle reared around from behind, a couple of marines stood at the opened doors as the shuttle neared towards the edge. Carl instructed that Terrance to try and lead them out, but the batarians were closing in rather quickly. Once more, Carl demanded that the shuttle avoid getting hit, as it was their only way out. The batarians were far too close at this point. The shuttle closed off and aimed from above for assistance, eliminating more.

"They just keep spawning!" John growled in frustration, ready to get the hell out of there. No matter how many they killed off, more followed.

Alice covered her ears in pain from the loud noises, a strong headache was forming. Painfully. She grinded her teeth, eyes pinched together to try and redirect the pain. Her subtle whimpers caught John's attention.

"Alice? Are you ok?" He tried to check her, but the constant firing was multiplying.

"It's a headache, huh? Here." Terrance tossed John a small packet as he threw a small group of batarians over the dock.

"What's this? Pain medication?" John looked over it, opening it up and handing it to Alice.

"Specifically made for biotics. Helps with the migraines. Works fast, but I'd gave her just one for her size."

Alice shakily downed the tablet, easing back against cover, knees bent up and head lowered as it began to kick in. It wasn't long until the headache lessened, but it still hurt a bit.

"Ok, they're calling in reinforcements, so we have a few seconds to get out now." Carl slide in beside them and he then called in for the shuttle to ready for them to board.

"Everyone ready?" Terrance asked as he reloaded his pistol. "It's now or never."

John nodded, looking down to Alice. "This is it. There's nothing to fear, just push forward and don't look back…promise me. No matter what…"

Alice didn't get a chance to respond as she was suddenly pulled forward by John as he followed behind her. The two marines led them away.

Moments ticked by slowly as they all ran, bullets blazing past them. The two marines, including the ones standing in the shuttle entrance fired back, covering the two children as they ran. Alice screamed as she felt a bullet whiz past her head, hitting one of the marines in the shuttle as they fell off, missing the docking platform completely.

That's when she heard the thud from behind. Stopping completely, she watched as Carl tried to help John up who held onto his side, red oozing down his hands. She screamed his name and tried to run for him, but Terrance grabbed hold of her with one arm as the other fired back dead on as batarians dropped like flies.

"No! John! Please let go! I need to help him!" She struggled against the larger biotic, but to no avail. Her biotics acted up, making it difficult for the man to keep hold of her, yet he was determined to keep her safe however, even if she blamed him. He refused to let another child die.

She watched as John struggled, falling into cover with Carl. Alice cried and screamed for her brother. "Jooooohn!"

"We need to get you out of here. The Lieutenant won't leave your brother alone. We'll turn around, but right now. It's, too, dangerous, ok?" Alice was dragged onto the shuttle, the doors slide closed as she screamed for him. John only smiled back sadly, glad that she was safe finally.

Alice clung to Terrance as the shuttle bumpily left the colony for the Alliance patrol ship. The fear she felt sunk further down to her stomach, creating a sickly feeling. The biotic did his best to calm her down, giving her soothing words, but failed miserably as she couldn't stop from weeping.

The shuttle flew roughly through the heavy weather, lightning bolting around them. John and Carl hid behind the end cargo, holding off as long as they could until the shuttle was clear enough to circle around. Its guns shooting in its path as it reared around along the open dock, obliterating the batarians in its wake.

"Let me see it." Carl leaned over, looking back and forth between John's wound and the few batarians in the opening. John removed his hand, blood staining everything.

"It shot clean through, but it didn't hit anything, I think." He pressed back against the wound.

"Yeah, you'll live, but not in the clear yet. We need to clear off a few more of these bastards and flee when the shuttle can open again."

"Right."

A few batarians later, the shuttle circled around finally, the door sliding open to show Terrance using a carnage against an upcoming batarian.

Signaling them to run, Carl and John leapt over the short distance and tumbled into the safety of the shuttle. Doors sliding closed, the shuttle takes off in a blast.

Alice throws herself on John as he reclines against the far side of the shuttle, tears falling as she spots the bleeding wound. Steel eyes look up again in question and fear.

"I'm alright, Ali-bell." He manages between chuckles. "We're alright now."

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OK. So…I had trouble ending this, but my focus is a nine year time skip away after this. I don't have time to keep editing, so…reluctantly, I'll leave this here and progress. Until I revisit when I can. I wanted a overall background chapter and setup. I'm no pro at writing, but more for fun. So…be nice!


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